What is Zilliqa (ZIL)?

Deep Dive

1. Scalability Through Sharding & EVM Integration

Zilliqa pioneered sharding – splitting the network into parallel chains to process transactions simultaneously – achieving 2,500+ TPS. Its 2025 upgrade introduced x-shards, modular sub-chains where developers can customize consensus rules, privacy settings, and gas fees per application (Zilliqa 2.0 Whitepaper).

The platform became fully EVM-compatible in June 2025, enabling MetaMask, Hardhat, and Solidity tooling. Complex Ethereum dApps can deploy on Zilliqa with minimal changes, paying $0.05-$0.10 for contract deployments that cost $100+ on Ethereum (EVM Announcement).

2. Institutional-Grade Tokenization Architecture

Zilliqa 2.0 targets regulated markets with:
- Smart Accounts: ERC-4337-compatible wallets with multi-factor authentication and gasless transactions.
- Auditable anonymity: Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for privacy while meeting KYC/AML requirements.
- Customizable compliance: Projects can enforce jurisdiction-specific rules via x-shards without fragmenting liquidity.

This infrastructure has attracted partners like LTIN for legal entity identity solutions and deBridge for cross-chain asset transfers (RWA Focus).

3. Developer-Centric Ecosystem

The GZIL Collective DAO funds builders through community-voted grants, distributing over $2M in Season 1 to projects like Avely Finance and PlunderSwap. Developers benefit from:
- Predictable gas fees (0.1 ZIL/base transaction)
- Linear scaling via x-shards
- 5-second transaction finality

Conclusion

Zilliqa positions itself as a bridge between Ethereum’s developer ecosystem and institutional demands for compliant, high-volume blockchain solutions. By combining battle-tested sharding with EVM compatibility and regulatory tooling, it aims to become the backbone for tokenized finance. Can its modular architecture outpace specialized L1s while maintaining decentralization?